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Sunday, February 12, 2017

Paris Grand Slam 2017 - France DAY ONE

The IJF World Judo Tour 2017 launched in style on
Saturday as the Paris Grand Slam, one of the marquee events in the
sport, marked the start of a new campaign in front of 11,000 fans at the
AccorHotels Arena on day one in the French capital.

Paris’ unparalleled stage and the presence of the sport
in this majestic city offered the perfect location for new judoka to
introduce themselves to a knowledgeable and passionate audience while
current champions returned to begin a new journey as judoka of all ages
got to grips with the new set of rules.

The two-day judo festival opened on Saturday with
Olympic and world champions in action at the AccorHotels Arena as the
French Judo Federation’s annual supershow has attracted 412 judoka from
61 countries.

Medal table after DAY 1

#JudoParis2017 was the number one trend in France on
Twitter as one of the sport’s strongest nations and one of judo’s most
celebrated events was the most talked about subject in the entire
country during a stacked day of international sport.

On Sunday the heavyweight elite will grace the tatami with the seven remaining weight categories ready to be called into action.

At the same time, French Astronaut from the European
Space Agency and black belt judoka was practicing his judo techniques
from space as earlier during the day, he wished good luck to all
participants of the Grand Slam. WATCH THE VIDEO

WOMEN

-48kg: JEONG opens 2017 with Grand Slam gold

Former world champion MUNKHBAT Urantsetseg (MGL) came
into the competition as her team’s most experienced judoka in Paris and
gave it her all as always but came up short against Rio 2016 Olympic
silver medallist JEONG Bokyeong (KOR). The South Korean evaded a
sode-tsurikomi-goshi which was the first serious attack in the contest
and with no scores registered the contest continued into golden score.
An additional two minutes was required to separate the -48kg standouts
as the Mongolian was penalised to give the first gold in Paris to JEONG
who is now playing a starring role for her team.

In the first semi-final former world champion MUNKHBAT
beat Julia FIGUEROA (ESP) by ippon with a morote-seoi-nage. In the
second semi-final JEONG raced past KONDO Ami (JPN) in just 25 seconds in
a crushing defeat for the Japanese judoka.

The first bronze medal contest saw KONDO bounce back in
Paris as she beat a stubborn 18-year-old Paris debutant Anais MOSDIER
(FRA) by a single waza-ari. The effort of the young French fighter, who
was making her senior debut, was applauded by the home fans while KONDO
maintained and added to her standing as one of the top judoka in the
women’s lightest weight category even though she came to France for
gold. The second bronze medal contest opposed world number 12 Milica
NIKOLIC (SRB) and beaten semi-finalist FIGUEROA. The pocket dynamo from
Spain lost out to a waza-ari from a te-waza movement as Serbian NIKOLIC
continues to perform wonders and will now break into the top 10.

-52kg: KELMENDI stars at her home from home

Rio 2016 Olympic champion Majlinda KELMENDI won her
fourth consecutive Paris Grand Slam gold medal as the all-conquering
Kosovo hero was unbeatable again in France. In the final KELMENDI was
too powerful for TSUNODA Natsumi (JPN) who saw a weak ouchi-gari attempt
countered by her formidable foe for a waza-ari which was the difference
after four minutes of action which was beautifully dictated by the
champion of champions.

In the first semi-final KELMENDI saw off Angelica
DELGADO (USA) by two waza-ari scores with the second coming from a
well-timed uchi-mata. In the second semi-final Tokyo Grand Slam winner
TSUNODA stopped the Kosovo team from contesting the final between
themselves as the Japanese defeated Distria KRASNIQI (KOS) by a
waza-ari.

Semi-final: KELMENDI (KOS) vs. DELGADO (USA)

The first bronze medal contest opposed KRASNIQI and Abu
Dhabi Grand Slam winner Astride GNETO (FRA) and it was the visitor who
left with the medal by ippon after just one minute. In the second bronze
medal contest Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Natalia KUZIUTINA (RUS)
held down Abu Dhabi Grand Slam runner-up DELGADO with a
kami-shiho-gatame for 20 seconds and ippon.

-57kg: Paris debutant upstages home judoka for gold

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam winner Helene RECEVEAUX (FRA)
produced her best ever result in Paris but still it was not enough for
gold as world number 83 KWON selected the season opener to break through
at the top level. The 21-year-old, who was competing in only her second
Grand Slam, won her first IJF World Judo Tour medal as she frustrated
the French crowd and their world number two RECEVEAUX as the South
Korean registered two waza-ari scores without reply.

In the first semi-final RECEVEAUX stamped her name as
the top French judoka at -57kg as she brushed aside London 2012 Olympic
bronze medallist Priscila GNETO (FRA). RECEVEAUX won with a uchi-mata
and lapped up the home atmosphere after a crucial victory. In the second
semi-final KWON shocked five-time Grand Slam winner and favourite
YOSHIDA Tsukasa (JPN). A waza-ari after two minutes of added time gave
the contest to the South Korean.

The first bronze medal was won by YOSHIDA who recovered
from her unexpected semi-final defeat to thwart Sofia European Open
bronze medallist Nora GJAKOVA (KOS) by a waza-ari. The second bronze
medal was won by GNETO who defeated Rio 2016 Olympic champion Rafaela
SILVA (BRA). Carioca SILVA, who lost her quarter-final to KWON, could
not live up to her gold backpatch this time around as she was thrown
with a drop seoi-nage for a waza-ari. The Brazilian landed in a position
to apply a juji-gatame but GNETO was quick to defend and escaped any
danger. GNETO rolled her opponent from the ground for a second waza-ari
and celebrated her best result since moving up to -57kg in October.

The anticipated Rio 2016 Olympic final rematch came in
the final contest on day one as Tina TRSTENJAK defeated Clarisse
AGBEGNENOU (FRA). In a fitting end to a fantastic day of judo, the
world, European and Olympic champion from Slovenia, who is one of the
most well-drilled judoka in the sport, shut out powerhouse AGBEGNENOU at
every turn, a feat which not a single other judoka would be expected to
be capable of. TRSTENJAK held down the French flyer with a
tate-shiho-gatame for 20 seconds and ippon as the accolades are coming
thick and fast for Slovenia’s assuming champion.

In the first semi-final TRSTENJAK absorbed and then
dispatched Margaux PINOT (FRA) by two waza-ari scores while in the
second semi-final AGBEGNENOU (FRA) downed youngster WATANABE Kiyomi
(PHI) by a waza-ari.

In the first bronze medal contest 20-year-old Kiyomi
WATANABE beat 21-year-old Qingdao Grand Prix runner-up Lucy RENSHALL
(GBR) by the maximum score as she won the Philippines’ first ever medal
on the IJF World Judo Tour. The second bronze medal contest saw Tokyo
Grand Slam bronze medallist PINOT rule over Tyumen Grand Slam winner
NOUCHI Aimi (JPN) as the latter received hansoku-make for her third
shido.

MEN

-60kg: TAKATO completes Paris hat-trick

Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist TAKATO Naohisa (JPN)
started his year in thrilling fashion as he won the Paris tournament for
the third time. The Japanese ace defeated Tashkent Grand Prix bronze
medallist Sharafuddin LUTFILLAEV (UZB) in the final to secure a
hat-trick of victories in France at just 23 years of age. TAKATO, who
beat the Uzbek in their one previous meeting at the World Judo Masters
in 2015, opened the scoring with a waza-ari from a ko-uchi-gari before
pinning his opponent with a ushiro-kesa-gatame which was enough to make
LUTFILLAEV submit after 16 seconds.

TAKATO waved three fingers on both hands to the crowd
as he continued his remarkable run in Paris with gold medals in 2013,
2015 and now 2017.

In the first semi-final KIM Channyeong (KOR) was
defeated by LUTFILLAEV on shido penalties while in the second semi-final
World Judo Masters winner Orkhan SAFAROV (AZE) succumb to TAKATO by
ippon with 10 seconds left on the clock.

The first bronze medal contest was won by former world
number one SAFAROV who recorded the only score of the contest to defeat
Eric TAKABATAKE (BRA) by a waza-ari for a third career Grand Slam medal.
The second bronze medal contest saw former European champion Amiran
PAPINASHVILI (GEO) win his ninth Grand Slam medal as he turned South
Korean KIM for a waza-ari score.

-66kg: Superstar performance from teen wonder on Paris debut

Youth Olympic Games winner ABE Hifumi (JPN) grabbed his
first chance to perform at one of the sport’s flagship events with both
hands as the 19-year-old sensation won the fourth Grand Slam gold medal
of his career. ABE outperformed Qingdao Grand Prix silver medallist
Anzaur ARDANOV (RUS) for all four minutes as he struck with five seconds
left with a sode-tsuriukomi-goshi for a waza-ari score.

In the first semi-final ABE dismissed Pan-American
Championships bronze medallist Antoine BOUCHARD (CAN) with a fantastic
morote-seoi-nage after just one minute. The subsequent semi-final saw
ARDANOV sweep past GANBOLD Kherlen (MGL) by ippon after two minutes.

In the first bronze medal contest European champion
Vazha MARGVELASHVILI (GEO) bested GANBOLD by a waza-ari to break his
Grand Slam duck as the Georgian made a bright start to 2017 with his
home event, the Tbilisi Grand Prix, coming up in March. The second
bronze medal went to World Judo Masters bronze medallist Nijat
SHIKHALIZADA (AZE) who defeated BOUCHARD with two waza-ari. The Azeri
star launched the dogged Canadian backwards with a osoto-gari which was
the pick of the throws as SHIKHALIZADA showed his worth.

-73kg: HASHIMOTO wins back-to-back Slams to chase down world leader

World Judo Masters winner HASHIMOTO Shoichi (JPN)
illustrated that he is more than a high-quality deputy for the absent
Olympic and world champion ONO Shohei (JPN) and a world contender in his
own right as he won his fifth successive competition. World number two
HASHIMOTO, who has closed the gap on the world leader Rustam ORUJOV
(AZE), needed an extra 26 seconds of golden score to defeat world bronze
medallist and defending Paris champion AN Changrim (KOR).

In the first semi-final Rio 2016 Olympic silver
medallist Rustam ORUJOV (AZE) fell to AN by a waza-ari after 31 seconds
of golden score while in the second semi-final the in-form HASHIMOTO
defeated Tohar BUTBUL (ISR) by two waza-ari scored which went
unanswered.

The first bronze medal was won by European u23
Championships silver medallist Tohar BUTBUL (ISR) against Tokyo Grand
Slam bronze medallist Giyosjon BOBOEV (UZB) by a waza-ari score. The
23-year-old could now become a regular feature on the IJF World Judo
Tour after swooping for his first medal at this level.

The second and last male bronze medal contest was an
all-Azerbaijan duel as Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Rustam ORUJOV
(AZE) squared off against European u23 Championships winner Hidayat
HEYDAROV (AZE). After four minutes HEYDAROV had one shido and ORUJOV had
two shidos, with no scores registered, which meant the battle moved
into golden score as a contest can now only be decided by a technical
score in regulation time. The teenager managed to catch his role model
and teammate for a match-winning waza-ari to become of the youngest
medallists at the Paris Grand Slam.